


just breathe

by isloremipsumafterall (orphan_account)



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-09
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-08-07 18:14:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7724740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/isloremipsumafterall
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hoshi just needs to relax and T'Pol has a few ideas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	just breathe

Normally Hoshi loved meal time and seeing what the chef had come up with but she just wasn’t feeling it after the day she’d had with a stressful translation. She’d been pressed for time and the tricky vowels of the language hadn’t helped, it had been only by the skin of their teeth that they’d made it out without a diplomatic incident.

 

“Ensign Sato,” T’Pol stood at her table looking down at Hoshi and she jumped a little, nearly knocking over her water as she did.

 

“T’Pol, hi,” Hoshi grinned, “Did you want to sit down?” T’Pol tilted her head and then nodded, taking the seat across from Hoshi at the small table. Hoshi fiddled with her fork a moment longer before setting it down and trying to make conversation, “I thought you normally took dinner with the Captain.”

 

“I required a different setting tonight,” Was all T’Pol stated and then she stared at Hoshi, “Your work today was,” Hoshi tensed up, waiting for the reprimand, “Admirable,” T’Pol finished with instead and Hoshi blinked.

 

“Don’t you mean slow and inefficient?” She tried the joke at her own expense but made a face after, feeling like it fell flat.

 

“You were able to decode the language within a reasonable amount of time, the mission could not have ended well without you.” T’Pol stated and took a bite of the salad she had.

 

“Oh,” Hoshi relaxed and laughed, “Thank you.”

 

“It appears you were expecting something,” T’Pol raised an eyebrow, “Your current tenseness suggests that you are still not pleased.”

 

“It’s not that. I mean, I’m tense yes, but it’s just because I’m still not used to all this,” Hoshi waved her hand, meaning the ship, “It’s incredible meeting new cultures and learning their languages, I just wished I wasn’t so hard on for time for so many of it. It always feels like a translation means life or death.” Hoshi looked down miserably at her dinner which didn’t look like much now that she had spread it all across the plate in her moping.

 

T’Pol didn’t say anything for a minute and Hoshi sighed, figuring that she probably thought either Hoshi was being over dramatic or in some areas, right about a translation also meaning death for the crew if Hoshi screwed up.

 

“Would you like to join me in meditation tonight?” T’Pol finally said and Hoshi jerked her head up. It wasn’t that she was expecting the Vulcan to be joking but the thought that T’Pol would willingly want to spend time with her took her aback.

 

“Uh, sure.” Hoshi settled on so she could finally stop gaping at T’Pol and looking ridiculous.

 

“Meet me at my quarters in an hour.” T’Pol told her and then gracefully stood up, taking her empty tray with her and walking her away.

 

“Right,” Hoshi muttered under her breath, “I can do this.”

 

~~

 

T’Pol’s quarters weren’t very far away from her own and sure enough the walk wasn’t very long but Hoshi dragged it out anyway, wondering if perhaps T’Pol regretted the invitation.

 

“Regret is for those who don’t think things through,” Hoshi said quietly in imitation of T’Pol and couldn’t help the giggle that escaped from her.

 

Right then T’Pol’s door opened and T’Pol stood with one eyebrow raised at Hoshi who merely raised her hand and waved.

 

“Hi, I’m here, um, maybe not right on time. Sorry about that.” Hoshi smile was strained but T’Pol stepped aside to let her. She stepped inside and took a look around the quarters, different from hers in how sparse they were but she had expected that.

 

T’Pol’s hand came to rest at her elbow, drawing her attention and she let T’Pol lead her towards two mats that T’Pol had placed on the floor. Hoshi sat cross legged across from T’Pol and resisted the urge to squirm from the uncomfortable fibers of the mat.

 

“So, how do we do this?” Hoshi clasped her hands together and rested them in her lap, “I’ve never been very good at meditation.”

 

“I can tell,” T’Pol said drily and Hoshi just grinned, not letting it get to her. “You have shown a decent-”

 

“Wow, from admirable to decent in only an hour, that’s a new record.” Hoshi cut in, joking.

 

“It was not my intention to insult you.” T’Pol said, “I was going to say that you have shown a decent amount of anxiety.”

 

“Oh. Well that’s…true.” Hoshi winced, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to cut you off like that. It’s just that it’s like there’s a lot of pent up…I don’t know, everything, in me and I don’t deal well with it.”

 

“Which is why I have suggested meditation. But for you I think a different sort will suit you better.”

 

Hoshi tilted her head this time, “What kind of meditation?” Immediately her thoughts ran through the different kinds of ways to relax but she didn’t think that T’Pol would be up for most of those. Especially not the intimate ones.

 

“Translating under non-stressful situations relaxes you and will help you associate that feeling when on the bridge,” T’Pol said and pulled a padd that Hoshi hadn’t noticed near to her, “I will be giving you sentences in several languages. Please close your eyes and translate them.”

 

Much to her surprise T’Pol’s idea seemed to work and as Hoshi thought more and more about the sentences that she was translating she became more relaxed, able to enjoy her favourite thing without the blaring of sirens or yelling.

 

“I think we are done for the day.” T’Pol said and Hoshi hummed sleepily, opening her eyes and yawning. She stood with a stretch and smiled at T’Pol.

 

“Thanks for this, I mean whenever I try something like this on my own my brain already kinda knows it, you threw me some curveballs there.” She bit her lip not to laugh at T’Pol’s quizzical face at the reference of curveballs. Though she did feel like she didn’t have to fill the silence between them Hoshi continued anyway, “You know any other time I’d have considered this a study date. Er-not a date like a date date.” Hoshi’s rambling came back on full force with her slip up, undoing all the relaxation.

 

“At ease Ensign.” T’Pol said and Hoshi automatically responded to the order, breathing out a sigh. “I understand what you meant. I would not however be indisposed to a…date.”

 

Hoshi felt like she was gaping again as she nodded her head slowly, “We can do that. I think I have some shore leave coming up…” Her brain was already scrambling to think about what Vulcans might like on a date.

 

“Perhaps next time you can ask me then.” T’Pol clasped her hands behind her back and Hoshi smiled.

 

“Guess we’ll see then.” With that she walked out of the room, feeling better that day than she had in a long time.


End file.
